A computational tool for evaluating the economics of solar and
wind microgeneration of electricity

Abstract

This paper presents a method, implemented as a freely available computer programme, which is used to
estimate the economics of renewable microgeneration of electricity from wind and solar energy sources.
A variety of commercial small wind turbines and photovoltaic (PV) panels are considered and combined
with raw energy data gathered from a variety of locations. Both residential and holiday home user
profiles are available and options are selectable concerning feed-in tariffs (if available), government
incentive schemes and the cost of capital borrowing. The configuration of the generation setup, which
can consist of wind, PV and combination of wind/PV, is fully selectable by the user, with a range
of appropriate default data provided. A numerical example, based on Irish data, is presented,
which suggests that payback periods for solar and wind microgeneration systems can vary greatly
(2.5–500 years), depending on the location, installation and economic variables.